Loose Ends
by crono23
Summary: It's a few months in the future and Mike has finally made up with Lucy. And yet, he still feels something's missing.


**Special thanks to LackLuster for helping with proofreading.**

* * *

Mike sighed as he stared at himself in the mirror.

He was wearing a coat; a cozy green one which he had worn many times before. It looked a bit lopsided the way he wore it, so he attempted to adjust it to look a little nicer. When it looked roughly the same as before, he continued to fiddle with it, until he realized this was as nice as it was going to look.

Other than his jacket, Mike also had his prized blue scarf on. Compared to the coat it looked much nicer on him, and he would've ditched the former if it wasn't snowing outside. Out of habit he adjusted the scarf a bit and tugged it so it was a little tighter around his neck. The outfit wasn't perfect, but it was as close as he was going to get to being 'casual' and 'formal' at the same time.

Though still left with a lingering doubt, Mike pulled himself away from his mirror to walk over to the nearby window. It was unfortunately still snowing outside, but at least it added some variety to the somewhat bland street scene before him. He brought his hand to the window as he leaned forward slightly, but decided to retract it when the cold window bit through his fur. He kept staring at the darkened street for a little longer, until the voice of his mom snapped him back to reality.

"Michael, are you almost ready? We're just about ready to leave!"

"Y-yeah, almost!" he shouted back, hopefully loud enough for his mom to hear. Tearing himself from the window, Mike headed for his bedroom door, catching one last glimpse of himself in the mirror before heading out into the hallway. Switching his pace to a jog, Mike hurried down the rest of the hallway, only pausing at the top of the stairway to look down at his mother, father, sister, and little brother anxiously waiting at the bottom.

"Michael!" his mother scolded. "What took you so long?"

"S-sorry...I'm just not feeling too good."

His mom's expression immediately softened. "Oh, really? Do you want to stay home? I can always call it of—"

"No mom, I'm fine! It's just...I haven't been over there so long it's...kinda weird," he replied, trying to ignore Haley pointing to her tongue in the background.

"True, but don't you think it'll be nice to see them after so long? Now come on, kids, we're going to be right on time as long as we leave now."

Mike was last out the door. After taking a quick breath, he stepped out into the cold, grimacing a bit as a cold blast of wind slammed into his face. He attempted to ignore it, and stepped to the side so his mom could lock up the house. After that, they finally set off down the street, Mike trailing slightly behind so he could hopefully be with his own thoughts.

Why was he in this state though? He'd already made up with Lucy a few weeks ago, and yet here he was, dreading the first time he'd visit her house in months. It wasn't quite that simple though. While he had long since made up with her, he still considered it to be insufficient, and he had began feeling hard-pressed to extend a similar apology towards her siblings, Jordan and Sam. Mike hadn't heard much of them since everything first started going downhill, but that did not mean they hadn't suffered due to his decisions either. It was the right thing to do. Of course, that also begged the question...

 _...How do you tell someone you're sorry for almost killing their sister?_

One way or another, he'd find out soon enough.

The walk was short, and thankfully quiet. Though it had been a while, Mike had memorized the way to Lucy's house, as well as about how long it took to get there. Despite the short walk, there was a lingering fear his slightly odd behavior would attract the attention of his family, though by the time they arrived they hadn't given him more than the occasional glance.

Once they arrived at Lucy's house, Mike stood back a moment to take it all in. Not much had changed; it was still the drab, brown-brick, squarish town home it had always been. The lights were all on, and there was a figure standing in one of them. He briefly considered an awkward wave, but realized that Lucy's room was on the opposite of it, and if he waved to what he assumed was one of Lucy's siblings, it definitely wouldn't help. Unfounded fears perhaps, but he really couldn't spare anything when starting out on a foot as bad as "I kinda almost killed your sister."

Mike's mom rang the doorbell, emitting a low buzzing sound which inspired Mike to shuffle down the path to where the rest of his family was waiting to be let in. As he began waiting himself, the cold wind began to nip at his exposed feet and face. Though he had been braving this the entire way, it was somehow worse when he stood still. Unpleasant as it was, it was not enough to distract from the fears rapidly building inside him.

After what felt like an usually long wait, the front door opened. A middle-aged woman appeared in the doorway, a smile instantly forming on her face as she noticed him and his family's presence. Mike did not know her very well, but it would be obvious to anyone it was Lucy's mother. "Ah, Ellen, you're finally here! And the family too!" she exclaimed; "come in, come in!"

Mike hurriedly stepped in, happy to be out of the cold. His family immediately went to work undressing and chatting with Lucy's mom. For now he blocked it out, instead taking in the interior of their home. Like the outside there was not much new, though there were a few details he was sure weren't there before. The slight rearranging of some furniture, one or two new portraits hung up, and the cream-colored paint on the walls seemed more vibrant than he last remembered. _Seems they repainted..._

Haley seemed to have no interest in the conversation, and headed towards the middle of the living room, which was practically a part of the entryway. Mike followed, breathing deeply while he looked around to see if Lucy had appeared yet.

She hadn't, but soon he heard the creak of the stairway. Out of the corner of his eye he saw someone making their way down the staircase. At first he jumped, thinking it was one of Lucy's siblings, as they all looked quite similar. Thankfully another second of observation confirmed it was Lucy, and he grinned awkwardly while waving a quick 'hello' to her.

"Hey, Mike. Glad you could make it," Lucy said happily. Mike couldn't detect any undertones in her voice, but he was almost certain she was thinking the same thing he was.

"Yeah...how've you been?" Mike asked, trying not to sound awkward.

"Eh, good," she replied; "nothing interesting's happened outside of school though."

"Heh, yeah."

An awkward silence quickly descended. He did want to attempt small talk, but he also wanted to bring up the main reason he was there. Lucy had been informed of his plan and agreed to help, mostly due to Mike's worries that Sam might actually attempt murder. "Hey, can we talk in private?" Mike quietly asked.

"Oh?" Haley inquired. Both Mike and Lucy turned to look at her angrily, but Haley only smiled, clearly well aware of her deliberate intrusion.

"It's nothing, Haley," Mike responded while rolling his eyes; "I'd just rather talk to Lucy without my stupid little sister listening to everything."

Haley stuck her tongue out. "Bleh. You're no fun," she said, but left the two alone.

Before Haley could ruin anything again, the pair swiftly made their way into the adjacent kitchen, which had been empty up until then. They fidgeted for a bit, equally unwilling to start, but after a while, Lucy finally sighed. "Well...You ready for this?"

"I...don't know," Mike croaked. "I know it's the right thing to do, but...still."

Lucy's gaze remained unchanging. "I mean, this is all on you. You can quit now if you like, but I suppose you've already made up your mind."

"Yeah, I'm not gonna back out now...I just wish this was easier."

"Look, I know it's hard, but the point here is to at least let them _know_ you're sorry, okay?

Mike tugged at his scarf nervously. "I guess. Still, what am I supposed to say? "I'm sorry for almost killing your sister?""

"What? No!" Lucy snapped lightly. "Just think of something, Mike. I'm not here to tell how you to apologize."

Mike sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Still, what if I can't think of anything?"

"The words will come when they come, Mike. Just try not to worry about it for now."

Mike looked down in silent contemplation. Perhaps she was right about the right words coming to him, but right now he wasn't feeling too confident about such a method. Even some sort of opening statement might help, but he could conjure nothing. Then again, he had no idea _when_ he'd be expected to talk with her siblings. There could be plenty of time to think of something. "Well...what now?" he asked tentatively.

"Right now?" Lucy wondered. "Right now you try to enjoy yourself. If I send you up right away I can tell it won't end well. Go talk with your family or something and I'll go try to bring them down, alright?"

After a moment's hesitation, Mike nodded, then headed back out into the living room. His family was already there, mother and father chatting with Lucy's mom, while Haley apathetically watched Chris crawl across the living room floor. Mike went and sat next to her while he waited. After what happened earlier he expected her to be nosy again, but the most she gave him was a bored stare, which gave him more than enough confirmation that she did not want to be here.

 _Neither do I, Haley..._ Mike silently replied.

"Oh, Lucy!" her mom suddenly exclaimed; "Do you mind fetching your brothers?"

"Already on it!" Lucy cried back.

 _Already?_ Mike worried, _I haven't thought of anything!_

Desperate for something, Mike frantically tried to think of any useful sentence to use in his upcoming apologies, but like before he could conjure nothing, and within a minute he could already hear several pairs of footsteps heading down the stairs. He looked up, just in time to see Lucy appear at the bottom of the stairs, flanked by two males; one taller than her, the other _much_ taller. Jordan and Sam.

Mike immediately looked away, but the problem was not eye contact; already he could feel them staring a hole in the back of his head. They didn't say anything, and neither did he, but no words need to be said when the siblings of a girl who almost killed herself are present in the same room with the guy who drove her to that point in the first place.

"I'll be downstairs," Sam immediately announced.

"And I'll be in my room," Jordan added.

Mike decided to sneak a glance. Instead of doing anything, Lucy stood there indifferently while her brothers went in opposite directions. For a second, her and Mike's eyes met. They were mostly devoid of emotion, but he knew what she meant: "You know what to do" or something like it.

"Hey! We have guests!" Lucy's mom snapped, but it was no use. As two of her kids left the room, she sighed. "Lucy, do you mind?"

Lucy nodded dutifully and headed up the staircase, presumably in pursuit of Jordan. Mike watched her until she was out of sight, then once he was certain no more eyes were on him, he got up from his seat and headed up after her.

Sure enough, Mike saw Lucy at the top of the stairs, arms crossed. As the stairs creaked slightly, she looked down at him, silently judging while he attempted to catch up with her. Soon they were both on the same floor.

"I suppose you're going in there now?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah..."

"Are you ready?"

"Not at all," he replied with a nervous smile, eliciting a quiet chuckle from Lucy.

"Heh. Well, Jordan's already holed up in his room. Good luck."

Mike gulped, nodded, and walked past her down the hall. It wasn't hard to guess which room was Jordan's, as the door was adorned with a tacky "DO NOT ENTER" sign. As Mike's heart began to pound faster and faster, he slowly reached out with a shaky hand to grab the doorknob. He stood there for a moment until he finally decided to turn it, only to find he was sweating enough to make the handle simply slip through his hand. He quickly switched hands and forced open the door before he could have second thoughts.

Mike's first impression of Jordan's room was that it was messy. Quite messy. Clothes scattered across the floor, sports posters hanging lopsidedly on the walls, the bedsheet half on the floor and half on the bed, and bits of sports gear sitting messily in the corner. In the half second he took in all this, he briefly wondered how Jordan's mom dealt with such a rebellious kid.

Upon entering the room, Mike quickly caught Jordan's attention. Previously he had been sitting on his bed. In a second he had stood up and began stomping towards Mike, "Hey, get out!" he snapped.

Mike immediately threw his hands up as he began to slowly back away from Jordan. "W-wait, I'm only here to talk!"

Jordan grabbed Mike by the shoulder and began trying to force him back out the doorway. "I don't want to hear it," Jordan replied coldly as Mike tried to keep himself in place by grabbing the edges of the doorframe.

"Dammit, Jordan, I'm here to _apologize!_ "

Jordan paused. Slowly he removed his arms from Mike's shoulders and stood back a bit. His face remained unchanging, except for the eyebrow over his blue eye raising slightly. "Well?"

"...I...I'm so sorry..." Mike choked out, unable to think of anything else.

"That's it?" Jordan asked. Before Mike had a chance to answer, Jordan uncrossed his arms and returned to trying to shove Mike out of his room. "Get the fuck out!"

"Wait! Please! Just let me say _something!_ " Mike begged.

Again Jordan let up, but this time kept his hands on Mike's shoulders while staring him dead in the eyes. He didn't say anything, but he didn't need to; his own heterochromatic stare was enough to make Mike very uncomfortable. Eventually he let go of Mike and hung his head to sigh. When he brought it up again his face was a bit more relaxed, though now he seemed more tired than anything. "Fine, what do you want?"

Despite Jordan's scrutinizing stare, Mike forced himself to calm down, as well as close the door behind them for privacy. "Jordan I...god, I'm so sorry what for I did..."

"Are you?" Jordan immediately snapped back.

"Yes!" Mike insisted; "I feel so awful for what I said to her. She felt horrible afterwards, and I'm sure you do to—OW!"

Mike lifted a hand to hold his stinging cheek. Jordan retracted the arm he used for the slap, but didn't do anything other than glare at Mike with a fury Mike had yet to see so far. " _Do you?"_

"Huh?"

For the third time, Jordan grabbed Mike and this time brought his face even closer than before, giving Mike a painfully clear view of his eyes. Clear enough to show the beginnings of tears in both unequally-hued eyes. "Do you really know what it was like, Mike?"

"W-well..."

"Of course you don't," he growled, and shoved Mike against the wall. The impact wasn't enough to hurt him, but he remained glued in place out of fear.

Jordan took a step forward. "Tell me. What would you do if I made Haley try to kill herself?" he demanded.

"B-but...you wouldn't..."

"You know what I mean! _Answer me!_ "

Mike flattened his ears as Jordan practically yelled in his face. "I-I mean...I wouldn't like it—"

" _ **Exactly.**_ "

With that, Jordan finally backed off, leaving Mike pinned to the wall. Slowly he removed himself from his spot while Jordan took a seat on his bed furthest from Mike and began staring at the floor. Mike opted to stand, but after a while, tentatively decided to sit down next to Jordan, who quickly noticed. At first Mike thought he was going to get assaulted yet again, but when Jordan only dully stared at him, he began to search for something to say.

"Look I...I'm really sorry for everything that happened, Jordan. I don't know what else to say," Mike whimpered. Jordan didn't respond.

"Do you know what it was like?" Jordan quietly asked after a tense silence.

"Uhhh...what what was like?"

"The day it happened," he replied with a sniff.

Mike pursed his lips. He could tell what he was about to be told would not be easy for Jordan, and probably not for him either. Whatever it was, it needed to be said, and he needed to hear it. He owed Jordan that much at least. "...Well?"

Jordan sighed and leaned back as he began his recollection. "I...I remember just sitting here, doing homework. My mom came in, told me about Lucy being in the hospital, but...we didn't know much else other than her being in bad shape."

Mike winced already, but Jordan wasn't finished. "That was bad enough, but then they told me to watch the house while they went to see her in the hospital. I didn't hear anything until they got back. I had no idea how bad she was or if she was...was...dead. And then you and friends came along and made everything so much worse. I...I know you guys cared, but at the time I didn't want to deal with any of that at all."

Jordan sniffed quietly and wiped a few tears from his eyes before forcing himself to continue. "I was so relieved when she turned out fine...well, mostly fine. But with her going to the boarding school for so long, I was so scared something m-might happen again...I-I still am..."

By now Jordan couldn't take it anymore, and sobbed quietly as he buried his face in his hand. Mike grimaced and looked away for the time being, deciding to reflect on the story he'd just heard. Knowing what he'd done to Lucy was bad enough, but he'd foolishly never imagined he managed to do... _this_ to Jordan. Mike looked back over, painfully noticing Jordan was still crying. Slowly, Mike reached out his hand and placed it on Jordan's shoulder.

Jordan removed his hands from his face and used them to dry his tears again. He briefly glanced at Mike with a pitiful expression, but went back to staring at the floor. "I never really knew you too well, Mike, but I at least trusted you. Then you went and did... _this_. Why?"

Mike's heart started to beat faster as he realized what telling the truth would entail. "Do...do you really want to know, Jordan?"

"I don't care what it is. Just tell me already so I can at least know why you did it."

Mike gulped. "She...she _abused_ me, Jordan. Every time I'd mess up she'd slap or kick or punch me and...and I just couldn't take it anymore. That, and when I rejected her, she immediately went to other people, and it felt like she never really cared about me at all."

"I know she used to be rough with people, but...did it really have to be that way?" Jordan whimpered.

"I kept it in too long," Mike replied solemnly. "Shoulda said something sooner, but I just couldn't and I eventually snapped. When she was trying to be friends again of all the times..."

"Trying to be friends..?"

"I don't know if you heard anything about the history essay, but that's when it happened. I could tell she was trying to make it up and everything, but then I just remembered why I hated her, and..."

Jordan sniffed. "Did you really have to? She couldn't have been that bad."

"Jordan, I'm not trying to make her the villain. I know she's your sister, but she really did make me feel horrible. I _did_ take it way too far, but you have to understand I was just sick and tired of everything she did to me at the time, and her attempts to make up were too little, too late."

"...I guess," Jordan eventually responded.

"I'm only telling the truth you know," Mike added. "Look, Jordan, I really wish I never did this, okay? It hurt so much when I fully realized what I did, and not a day goes by where I don't regret what I did." He sighed. "I don't expect you to forgive me now, or ever, but please understand how much this hurts me too."

Jordan said nothing.

"I'll leave you alone now," Mike said quietly.

With that, Mike lifted himself from the side of Jordan's bed and made his way to the door. As he rested his hand on the doorknob, Jordan quickly asked him to wait. Mike turned around and watched as Jordan stood up.

"Mike I...I'm sorry, but I can't forgive you. Not yet at least," Jordan quickly added. "I can see you're sorry, but this'll take time, alright?"

"Yeah, I understand..."

"Thanks for doing this though," he replied with a weak smile, which Mike briefly returned before leaving the bedroom.

As soon as Mike closed the door behind him, he felt his legs about to give out, and leaned against the opposite wall for support. Slowly, he slid down the wall, until he was curled up nicely in the fetal position. It felt so surreal, what he had just done, almost like it never happened. It was a good thing, what he did, but it felt so _weird_ now. He assumed it was simply adrenaline or the shock of actually doing something so heavy, and that it would go away soon, but right now he found it difficult to get over, and he made no attempt to try and pick himself up off the floor.

"Mike!" he heard Lucy call; " You alright?"

Mike peeked up from his legs to see Lucy standing over him. "Y-yeah."

"I see...Why are you on the floor?"

"I...just can't believe I did that," he chuckled in return.

"Did it go well?"

"Yeah...mostly."

Lucy squinted slightly, seemingly wanting to know more, but opted against asking him anything, to his great relief. "Here, lemme help you up," she said, grabbing his arm.

With Lucy's help, Mike hauled himself off the floor. The two quickly headed down the hall to a more secluded area lest Jordan be listening. "So, I guess...Sam's next?" he asked, struggling a second to recall the name.

"No, you should probably take a small break. I need to get Jordan out of his room anyway," she explained. "Oh, and don't go alone either. Sam's very protective, so I wouldn't put it past him to...do anything to you..."

Mike shivered slightly, recalling a few times in the past when Sam had threatened him. Not with words, but the glares he had received could practically cut steel. With what he had done to Lucy though, this would almost surely end up with a little more than threats, even with her at his side. "Yeah..." he responded emptily.

While Lucy went into her brother's room, Mike headed back downstairs. Like before, his parents and her parents were still chatting about stuff he didn't care about. Chris was seated on part of the couch, happily nibbling on a cookie someone had given him while Haley boredly watched. None of them seemed to have noticed, or cared what had gone one upstairs, which he was silently thankful of.

As Mike reached the bottom of the stairs, he began to realize he hadn't had anything to drink in a while. It wasn't a problem before, but talking with Jordan had made his throat dry. No one paid any heed to him as he snuck around them to the kitchen, though he was pretty sure Haley glanced at him on his way in.

The kitchen was of little interest. It was a lot like his in terms of items, just rearranged differently in a noticeably smaller space. In the corner a refrigerator hummed quietly, a sink on its right, with a counter and cupboards above and to the right of the sink. Mike walked over and began digging through the cupboards until he finally found the glassware. He stood in front of the sink and prepared to fill his glass, only to decide he wasn't quite in the mood for water. Instead, he opened the refrigerator, looked around for a moment, and grabbed one of several cans of ginger ale sitting on a shelf.

"Hey, Mike?" came Haley's voice from behind him.

Mike paused attempting to open the can and looked back. "Yeah?"

"Wanna find a board game or something? They're still going on and I can't take it much longer."

Mike prepared to say no, as he still had to talk to Sam, and he had no idea how long a game would go on if he agreed. Then again, anything would be better than preparing to talk to Sam. Maybe he'd be able to talk her into playing with something simple, like a deck of cards. "Sure."

Upon finishing pouring his soda, Mike left the kitchen alongside Haley. They looked around a bit for something to play, but found nothing. Mike had no intent of searching downstairs lest Sam try to kill him, so he decided to head back upstairs to look. Up there they found Jordan and Lucy quietly discussing something at the end of the hall, but they readily offered to help, and soon procured a deck of cards from a closet.

Since the living room was still full of adults, the dining room prepped for dinner, and the basement controlled by Sam, the small group of teenagers were forced to play a small game of blackjack on the floor of the hall. Little was said, but thankfully everyone involved with his apology to Jordan seemed to be over it, and Haley was more focused on rubbing in victory whenever she achieved it. As time went on, they slowly grew bored of playing, and Haley decided to assist Jordan in finding something more interesting. "Wanna help?" she asked.

"I...think I'll pass," Mike said.

"Same," added Lucy.

Haley looked back to roll her eyes at them, but they were otherwise allowed to head back downstairs and down towards the basement. The entrance to the basement stairway was off the edge of the living room, meaning Mike and Lucy could converse without anyone else hearing them.

"Well...ready for this, Mike?" Lucy asked.

"I guess," he murmured.

"I'll make sure he doesn't try to do anything, so you're gonna have to deal with me being in the room this time," she replied, to which Mike nodded solemnly in response.

With that, the pair descended into the basement, Lucy pausing to shut the door tightly behind them. Lucy was calm, but Mike was not. Even though the lights were on, and the basement was furnished with a warm, red carpet; his knowledge of Sam and what he was about to do made it feel more like a slow descent into a lion's den. In the distance he could hear the faint tapping of a keyboard, no doubt Sam attempting to occupy himself.

Slowly, Mike made his way to the computer room entrance. The basement beyond was dark, but through the partially-open door he could see a brightly-lit room. He carefully peeked into the room, and saw Sam at the other end of the room, working at a computer with his back towards Mike. Carefully he stepped into the room, avoiding touching the door in case it creaked, and cleared his throat. "Uhh...hey."

Sam's ear twitched, but he otherwise showed no other form of acknowledgement. Mike waited, patiently shuffling his feet, but he still went virtually unnoticed. Eventually his wits began to fail him, and he attempted to call attention to himself one more time before he gave in. "S-sam..?" he choked out.

Finally, Mike got his (un)desired reaction. Sam turned around in his seat, coldly glaring at Mike with his mismatched eyes. Mike suddenly felt like he was staring down a loaded gun barrel as Sam snapped, "What?" at him.

"I...I'm here to apologize," Mike squeaked.

Sam squinted. "This is about Lucy, isn't it?" Mike nodded. "Yeah, not interested."

"Wait, please!" Mike whined, taking a few steps towards Sam; "I'm really sorry, okay?"

Mike didn't get the chance to say anything else, as Sam pounced from the office chair and pinned Mike to the wall via his neck. He choked, trying to restore the wind that was knocked out of him while Sam leaned in closer. "Bullshit," he whispered.

"Sam, what the hell are you doing‽" Lucy shouted from across the room, but only Mike took notice.

"Gack...I-I swear I d-didn't..." Mike choked out, but his garbled words only inspired Sam to constrict his grip even further.

"Whatever you have to say, I don't want to hear it, you little shit," Sam whispered coldly in Mike's ear; "You're dead to me, alright?"

"For god's sake, get off him!" Lucy yelled, grabbing a hold of, then helplessly tugging at Sam's iron grip.

Sam didn't budge, in fact, he hardly noticed, instead preferring to continue staring two holes in Mike's skull. "Well? _Understand?_ "

"Y-y-yes," Mike squeaked, inbetween gasps for air. Finally, Sam released his hold, letting Mike fall to the floor with a thump that was all-too-satisfying for Sam.

"Touch her again and you _will_ be dead, okay?" Sam growled.

Mike nodded fervently and decided to scramble out of the room, but Lucy was not as satisfied with the answer. "Excuse me? You aren't going to listen to what he has to say?"

"And why should I?"

"Because I'm the reason he's here doing it! He's already apologized to me and Jordan, and while I...don't really know what Jordan thinks, I care enough to forgive him! Can't you at least give him a chance?"

Sam blinked. This was new to him, especially the part about Lucy already forgiving Mike. Sam shook his head, attempting to return to his original demeanor. "You...you actually forgave that... _rat?_ "

Lucy pinched the bridge of her nose. "Sam, please. I'm not expecting you to forgive him too, but at least give him a fair chance to tell you how he feels."

"I did, and I have no intention of doing it again."

Lucy's face fell, but she knew it was futile to try to pursue. "Fine," she said, and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Mike had taken a seat on the bottom of the stairway, and looked up as she approached.

The first thing Mike noticed was her crestfallen expression. "You alright?"

"Mmm, yeah, I'll be fine," Lucy said, a tinge of emptiness in her voice; "I guess I didn't expect him to be so adverse to it."

"I mean...what _did_ you expect?" Mike asked tentatively.

Lucy sighed. "He's still my brother, Mike. In hindsight I suppose you're right, but I wanted to be hopeful about this. Wishful thinking it seems."

Lucy took a seat next to Mike, the latter of whom was still quite nervous that he was within meters of Sam. He attempted to distract himself, watching as Lucy rested her chin on her hands, and soon found it a suitable, but sad distraction. He lifted his arm, unsure for a moment, but finally laid it across her shoulders. She refused to look directly at him, but a small smile appeared, moments before it was washed away by the sound of someone yelling.

"Kids! Dinner's ready!"

Both Mike and Lucy looked behind them, where her mom had just disappeared from the basement entryway. Turning back to Mike, Lucy said, "Well, you should head on up. I'll try to get Sam."

Mike nodded and hurried back upstairs. When he entered the dining room, he noticed nearly everyone was there save for Sam and Lucy, though that quickly stopped being his main focus. _Her mom really outdid herself..._ he thought as he surveyed the table. Spaghetti and meatballs, biscuits with some butter on the side, a bowl of salad, and out of the corner of his eye he could see a cake resting on the kitchen counter. Everything was in heaping proportions save for the cake, which altogether caused him to temporarily forget his troubles, for the delicious display reminded him he'd barely eaten anything for the past few hours.

Alas, the only unoccupied chair that wouldn't seat him close to Sam was sandwiched between Haley and Jordan. Mike grumbled quietly, but took his seat anyway. Both his neighbors glanced at him, but he attempted to ignore it and shovel food onto his plate. Soon he had a desirable amount of food and prepared to dig in.

Though just before he could, Mike saw Sam and and Lucy enter the room, the former immediately noticing him. Mike cowered and tried to duck down away from Sam's sight, to no avail. Soon Sam sat down and seemed to focus on other things, allowing Mike to finally eat some of the spaghetti on his plate.

The rest of dinner passed uneventfully. The food was delicious, but it wasn't enough to shake Mike's lingering feeling of having Sam reach across the table and try to strangle him again. Thankfully Jordan paid him no mind, but Mike occasionally saw Sam glaring at him at times when he thought no one else was looking.

After a while, dinner was concluded. It was getting pretty late so there was (thankfully) no time to stay and chat. Sadly, saying goodbye was a lengthy process, which Mike did his best to stay away from. He took his own turn in waving goodbye to Lucy, but quickly scurried along when Sam appeared in the doorway. The walk home was pleasantly uneventful.

When they finally got home, Mike wasted no time in removing his clothing and heading up the stairs. After all that had happened in the past few hours, even a little rest would be greatly appreciated. The stairs creaked under his weight as he plodded upwards and into his room. He climbed into his bed and pulled the covers over him, then quietly began to drift off while reflecting on the previous few hours. It definitely wasn't what he expected, but not in a bad way. Maybe one day they'd forgive him completely, but for the time being, just the fact that they knew his feelings was enough.

* * *

 **As it turns out, I'm NOT dead. Unfortunately, my muse is long since burnt out. I will continue to attempt writing cat fanfics, but no promises.**


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